The owner of the Chinese ship that rammed a Philippine fishing vessel off Reed Bank last June has offered immediate compensation to the 22 Filipino fishermen who nearly drowned after they were abandoned at sea.
“The Philippine side is requested to file a specific appeal for civil compensation based on the actual loss,” Chen Shiqin, president of the Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association said in an apology letter sent to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing.
Shiqin also vowed to expedite compensation in accordance with the procedures for insurance claim.
A translated apology of the Chinese shipowner was released by the Department of Foreign Affairs on its Twitter account Wednesday. It was posted a day before President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing where he is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for bilateral talks.
The letter of apology was sent to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 26 by Chen Shiqin, president of the Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association.
“The shipowner of the Chinese fishing boat involved, through our association, would like to express his sincere apology to the Filipino fishermen,” the document read, but maintained the incident was an “accident” and “an unintentional mistake of the Chinese fishermen.”
The shipowner, according to the Philippine embassy, admitted the Chinese fishing boat should have taken the major responsibility in the accident that involved the F/B GemVer 1, which was shattered and split in two after the larger Chinese ship slammed into it.
